FREE Gang violence Essay (original) (raw)

In September of 1994, fellow gang members in Chicago executed Robert Sandifer, Jr. At the time, police were looking for Sandifer in connection with the shooting death of a fourteen-year-old girl. At the time of his death, Robert Sandifer was eleven years old. (Sadler 16) These stories fuel the public perception that gang violence is increasing. Recent scientific studies show that this is indeed true. Department of Justice statistics for the period between 1985 and 1994 report an increase of 150 percent for juveniles arrested for murder; 103 percent for gun violations; 97 percent for aggravated assault; and 57 percent for robbery. Although the majority of gang members arrested were male, female delinquency is also on the rise. (Sadler, 1997) Still, other voices question the perception of increased juvenile violence and also the statistics. In Images and Reality: Juvenile Crime, Youth Violence, and Public Policy, the authors contend that arrest statistics represent the number of juveniles arrested for violent crime "not the number of violent crimes committed by young people.'(Sadler, 1997) However, recent scientific studies such as the Rochester study support the contention that gang violence is on the rise. .
There is no standard definition of a gang.' Local governmental agencies tend to develop their own. However, a standard criteria has been developed for research purposes. Gangs'' tend to have the following characteristics: .
1. Formal organization structure.
2. Identifiable leadership.
3. Identifiable territory.
4. Recurrent interaction.
5. Engage in criminal and violent behavior (URL: Howell) .
Juvenile crime, unlike adult crime, is usually committed in groups. The ages of gang members may range anywhere from 12 to 25 years of age. The average age being around 17. While some cities such as Chicago report that around 75% of gang members are adults, 90% of gang members are estimated to be juveniles.

1. Stopping Community Gang Violence

It's hard to believe we can answer this question with a certain yes, but gang violence certainly cannot be completely stopped. In fact seems impossible to stop activities in gang violence from happening but there are solutions to minimize gang violence. ... How the economy is doing is a huge factor to the increase of gang violence around our major cities. ... Furthermore, while gang violence is going on our communities it causes people to go into jail and have to deal with violence which gang violence won't stop. ... Maybe trying to tackle these issues can help overcome gang violence...

2. The Issue of Juvenile Gangs

Gang violence is an issue that grows larger by the day here in America. ... It seems that the gang related acts of violence reported on the news daily are getting more brutal now than ever. ... They join gangs because they feel a need for power, their friends are in a gang, they feel neglected, and others protect them in the gang. ... The Richmond Gang Reduction and Intervention Program, or "GRIP," was created to reduce crime and violence associated with youth street gangs in a select group of cities across the United States. ... This is how we defeat our gang problem, not gang injunctio...

3. Gang Violence

Gang Violence Many forms of hate face American citizens in this day and age. ... However one problem you don't hear too much about any more is gang violence. ... This is partially the reason the violence started. ... However police have noted that in certain cities gang violence has been decreasing. ... Gang violence doesn't have to happen. ...

4. Gang Violence

Gang Violence Many forms of hate face American citizens in this day and age. ... However one problem you don't hear too much about any more is gang violence. ... This is partially the reason the violence started. ... However police have noted that in certain cities gang violence has been decreasing. ... Gang violence doesn't have to happen. ...

5. Gangs and Gun Control in Canada

Most crimes that involve gun violence are with those who are involved with gangs and gang activity, if someone from another gang even looks at a rival the wrong way it can lead to a shootout. Some other approaches to gun violence are having more programs available for individuals who are most likely to join gangs in the first place or have criminal behavior. This gives them the chance to stay away from the violence and with the hopes that they would not participate in anything to do with the gun violence that is around them Another approach is having a larger police presence in hot spot ar...

6. Gang Violence and Evolutionary Theory

Gang violence in present day has become more of a problem than it has been in the past. A definition of gang in terms of gang violence is a group of persons working together for unlawful or antisocial purposes. Gang violence can be related to evolution by looking at why people join gangs in the first place. ... Another way to look at gangs and evolution is to think about the leaders of gangs. ... In conclusion, gang violence is an ever increasing problem with society. ...

7. Gangs

Fears Resurgence of Gang Violence-. ... After many years of decline in gang violence, the center for it, L.A., is seeing a large incline in street violence. From 1999-2000, gang violence rose 131 percent. ... Over the past few years gang violence has increased significantly. A few years ago, there was virtually no gang violence. ...

8. Youth Gang Violence In America

Youth Gang Violence in America A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of going home to visit the beautiful city of Austin, Texas. ... In recent years, the United States has witnessed the rapid growth of youth gangs and associated violence. ... So why do young people join gangs? ... One important aspect of youth violence, however, has clearly changes. ... One aspect America needs to concentrate on is solutions to gang violence. ...

9. Increasing Prevalence of Gangs

As the years go by, people are seeing an increase of gang violence all over the world due to multiple reasons. For example, based upon the findings done by the FBI, "gangs are morphing, multiplying, migrating and entrenching themselves in order to sell drugs to our kids, shooting up our neighborhoods, invading our homes, robbing our banks and stores, stealing our identities, our money, and instilling fear and violence everywhere they go." ... As the years go by, people are seeing an increase of gang violence all over the world due to multiple reasons. ... Gangs also provide protection whi...

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